This information applies to US customers charged a foreign transaction fee when using PayPal only.
Bargain Balloons does not know of any Canadian customers who are charged a foreign transaction fee when using PayPal within Canada.
International customers outside the US and Canada may be subject to fees based on their credit card issuing country. We do not control fees for international customers or refund international customers for credit card fees.
A foreign transaction fee is a surcharge that occurs when your credit card company or issuing bank routes a transaction through a foreign bank.
When using PayPal, there is no way for Bargain Balloons to control the credit card processors. The fee you may incur is usually no more than 1 percent of the transaction value. If you open a support ticket, we are more than happy to refund you for the foreign transaction fee if it occurs.
Here are some tips to avoid the foreign transaction fee:
- Use our online credit card processor instead of PayPal. We can control how your credit card is processed because we choose which bank to use to process your credit card.
- Use a credit card from an issuer that does not charge this fee. Capital One does not charge this fee on any credit cards. Most other banks charge fees based on the type of card.
- Call your credit card issuer to find out if your card charges a foreign transaction fee. Be sure to let them know you are not talking about a currency transaction fee. This fee only applies if the currency is different.
- Use funds available in your PayPal account instead of a credit card.
- Use a Discover card even through PayPal. Discover never charges this fee.
